Gripper Technology
Gripper technology is a mission critical part of molding automation. One the one hand, grippers must withstand acceleration forces up to 9g. On the other hand, they must carefully handle tiny, delicate parts which are sensitive to scratches and to pressure marks when still warm. Utmost precision is required, otherwise inserting of up to 120 individual parts per cavity wouldn't be possible.
Grippers perform additional lateral and rotational movements and contain sophisticated sensor and handling technology, e.g. for testing presence/absence and correct positioning of parts or for deactivating single cavities. When packing all together in a single device, weight becomes an issue. This makes an optimized, intelligent mechanical gripper design a must.
Precise for Sophisticated Part Insertion
HEKUMA's grippers use floating centering devices for each single cavity. A technology which safeguards optimum precision for parts insertion and take-out of delicate parts.
Lightweight but Uncomprimisingly Solid
HEKUMA's gripper design is optimized by FEM analyses and stands up against extreme accelerations. Essential parts of the take-out gripper are milled in one piece out of a solid block of aluminum. This means a weight reduction of up to 50% without compromising rigidity and long-term stability.
Designed for High Cavity Numbers
Especially for complex and therefore heavy gripper technology as required for molds with a high number of cavities, this design offers significant advantages compared to the usage of innovative materials for extreme lightweight gripper designs.
Clean-room Compatible
A further advantage of HEKUMA's milled gripper design is its clean room compatibility. All the necessary components like valves and sensors etc are enclosed in the body of the gripper. Nevertheless, all these components are easily accessible. The gripper shows flat surfaces all around, which can be easily cleaned according to the GMP regulations.
Highlights
- Lightweight but solid milled construction
- Clean-room suitable
- Up to 96 cavities and more
- Self-centering devices
- Complex parts inserting and taking technology